Poll

Government

It was one of those full-body laughs where the person rears their head back.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul had just stood next to Agriculture Commissioner James Comer in Louisville and praised Comer for returning $1.65 million to taxpayers when the Lexington Herald-Leader asked the senator what lessons he had learned from weeks of media scrutiny and criticism over multiple accounts of plagiarism.
"Not everybody likes me," Paul said, cracking up.

Ever since the federal health exchanges became live on Oct. 1, national news reports have discussed people having difficulties trying to log into the system.
Kentucky is one of a handful of states that created its own health insurance exchange, and that exchange, kynect.ky.gov, has largely avoided many of the technical issues that have affected the federal website.

The Lebanon Tourist and Convention Commission is scheduled to have a special-called meeting at 3:30 this afternoon, Nov. 13, at the Centre Square Convention Center, Room 300.

The commission was scheduled to meet on Monday, Nov 11, but only three commissioners (Carlotta Brussell, Chairman Brad Lanham, David Winebrenner) were present, which meant the commission did not have a quorum, and therefore could not take any action.

Meet-and-greet sessions with State Sen. Jimmy Higdon and State Rep. Terry Mills will be held tonight and tomorrow.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, the local legislators will meet with constituents at Bradfordsville City Hall in the Learning Center. Everyone is invited to attend. Bring your concerns and matters to discuss.
Higdon and Mills will hold another session at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, at Raywick City Hall.

Few laws have generated as much confusion, opposition or news coverage as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Despite the flood of news stories about the law widely known as Obamacare, there is still much confusion about it.

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 63 million Americans will increase 1.5 percent in 2014, the Social Security Administration announced Nov. 1.
The 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 57 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2014. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on Dec. 31, 2013.

Last week’s Marion County Democratic Party’s annual dinner also served as a campaign stop for U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes.
“Can we move the state of Kentucky from team Mitch to team switch?” she asked the hundreds of partisans in attendance.
“Yes,” they replied.
“Mitch” is incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is up for re-election in 2014. McConnell is also facing a Republican primary challenge from Louisville businessman Matt Bevin.

Marion County and Lebanon city officials started their most recent attempt to acquire Enhanced 911 two years ago, and they are still inching closer to making the service a reality.
“The stars have kind of aligned,” Marion County Judge/Executive John G. Mattingly told a joint meeting of the Marion County Fiscal Court, the Lebanon City Council and emergency service representatives Oct. 24 at the David R. Hourigan Government Center.

At the Marion County Fiscal Court’s Oct. 3 meeting, Marion County Jailer Barry Brady reported that the detention center’s revenues could be more than $400,000 behind budgeted projections by the end of December.
The magistrates asked Brady to look into what could be done, and he presented his report at Thursday’s fiscal court meeting.

Citing Kentucky examples, Gov. Steve Beshear promised a national audience on "Meet the Press" Sunday morning that the federal health-reform law will work, despite problems with the federal insurance exchange and doubts that the overall law will work.